Come out to the 5th annual So Cal Comic Con on Sunday, October 5h, from 10am-5pm, at the QLN Conference Center in Oceanside! Kids 13 and under, and any member of the military, get in for FREE! Our 2 Guests of Honor for this year’s show are Len Wein and Herb Trimpe. Both creators have an extensive history of work for the top 2 comic companies, and they are here to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Incredible Hulk #180 and #181, where Wolverine was created and introduced to the Marvel Universe! We also welcome back Special Guest John Kricfalusi, creator of Ren and Stimpy!

The 1st 100 people in line get a FREE gift bag STUFFED with cool comics. There are raffles throughout the day where you can win prizes like Sgt. Fury #1 from 1963 SIGNED by Stan Lee! Dozens of comic and toy vendors are on hand to sell your favorite Golden, Silver, Bronze, or Modern Age comics and toys. IDW Publishing and Aspen Comics will be in attendance, along with numerous comic creators, including:

WORTH is the heartfelt yet dynamic story of Grant Worth, Motor City’s most iconic hero. During the 1960’s, Worth’s ability to control machines made him a legendary figure in Detroit, a real hometown hero. But when Worth’s powers become obsolete because of society’s own progress, he is forced to find out what happens when a superhero can no longer be super.

Come out to the 4th annual So Cal Comic Con on Sunday, October 20th, from 10am-5pm, at the QLN Conference Center in Oceanside! Kids 13 and under, and any member of the military, get in for FREE! We’ve got 2 Guests of Honor for this year’s show:

* Artist Clayton Crain is known for his gorgeous painted work on titles like Carnage, Ghost Rider, X-Force, and Valiant’s upcoming Unity and X-O Manowar titles.

* Artist John Kricfalusi is best known as the creator of Ren & Stimpy through his company Spumco. Today, John works on various projects including a new George Liquor cartoon called Cans without Labels, and a new John K Presents: Spumco Comic Book Hardcover published by IDW Publishing, on sale at this show!

The 1st 100 people in line get a FREE gift bag STUFFED with cool comics. There are raffles throughout the day where you can win prizes like Iron Man #1 from 1968 SIGNED by Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan! Dozens of comic and toy vendors are on hand to sell your favorite Golden, Silver, Bronze, or Modern Age comics and toys. IDW Publishing and Aspen Comics will be in attendance, along with numerous comic creators, including:

At the store, all artists will be doing FREE sketches to anyone who signs up for Hero Initiative’s Ralphs Club program. Hero Initiative is a fantastic charity that needs funds to operate, and the Ralphs Club program allows them to receive funds on an ongoing basis without any cost to yourself. A percentage of every purchase you make as a registered Hero Initiative Ralphs Club member will go directly to this great charity organization.

In addition to the creators, we’ll have:

– Spider-Man in costume – Everyone’s favorite costumed character, who is our frequent guest for Free Comic Book Day, has promised to swing by and take photos with the kids.
– Prizes for any kids who come to the event wearing comic book-related costumes.
– All kinds of snacks and beverages for the kids.

Collector’s Paradise FREE COMIC BOOK DAY Signing event is from 2pm to 5pm, while the sale and free comics are from 11am to 7pm, regular store hours. This year, in addition to the FREE Books, we’ll be hosting the following talented creators:

Whilce Portacio – Legendary comic creator, co-founder of Image Comics, co-creator and artist on the hot new Image Comics series, Non-Humans, with Glen Brunswick, as well as creator of Wetworks, and artist on Uncanny X-Men, Hulk, Iron Men and much more.

Glen Brunswick – co-creator and writer of Non-Humans, as well as many other fantastic books for Image Comics, including Gray Area (with John Romita Jr), Jersey Gods, and Killing Girl.

Mike Kunkel – an incredible Animator, and creator/writer/artist on the Classic comic book series, Herobear & The Kid, which comes back on Free Comic Book Day via Boom! Studios, as well as the artist on DC’s Billy Batson & The Magic of Shazam.

Chris Moreno – Creator / Artist on Zombie Dickheads, as well as the artist on Image Comics’ and more recently Kickstarter-resurrected Sidekick, as well as Disney’s Toy Story and more.

Come buy Golden, Silver, Bronze and Modern comic books, as well as toys and merchandise, at the 3rd annual So Cal Comic Con! Meet Guest of Honor Marc Silvestri and over a dozen artists and writers, including Eric Basaldua, Joe Benitez, Ale Garza, Mike McKone, Marat Mychaels, Tone Rodriguez and Joe Weems! Free gift bags for the 1st 100 people in line, along with raffles all day for prizes like Avengers #1 from 1963 SIGNED by Stan Lee, and a Jim Lee sketched Icons Previews Exclusive Hardcover! Meet publishers like Top Cow, IDW, and Aspen Comics and buy convention exclusive products.

Artist/writer Stuart Immonen (New Avengers, Ultimate Spider-Man) will raffle off four sketches each day of the Phoenix Comicon (Phoenix AZ, May 24 – 27, 2012) to benefit the Hero Initiative. This is a rare opportunity to commission a sketch as Immonen famously declines requests as outlined in his book 50 Reasons to Stop Sketching at Conventions.

Artist Stuart Immonen will be helping Hero out at the con! The artist of Marvel Comics’ X-Men and Fear Itself will be at his own artist alley table, but sketching ONLY for Hero! Stuart will do four full-size 11-by-17-commission sketches per day. To get in in, you MUST purchase raffle tickets at $1 each. Four tickets per day will be drawn, and winners will pay $200 for a single-character, full-figure grey marker wash drawing. Drawings take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday at noon!

In addition, you MUST buy the Spawn/Lady Death Phoenix Con print with art by Andy Arias and inked by Todd McFarlane! Both McFarlane and Lady Death creator Brian Pulido will sign each print, limited to 250 serial-numbered pieces. All proceeds benefit Hero Initiative.

And go see John Layman! Layman, writer of the Image Comics hit Chew, has sat on both sides of the pitching process as an editor and as a creator. He’ll be putting on a special panel Sunday, May 27 at 130 p.m. to tell you what it takes to develop a winning pitch for your comics and graphic novels! Tickets to this in-depth workshop and Q&A are available ONLY with a $25 donation to Hero Initiative. Seating is limited!

So, Free Comic Book Day is over, but FREE COMIC BOOK MAY continues. Below you will find information on how to take advantage of the amazing FREE COMICS giveaways we are doing every Saturday in May, as well as our crazy Events for this week. Please make sure to participate in all of these events, you will be glad you did.

First, about the FREE COMIC BOOK MAY Promotion. If you stopped by on Free Comic Book Day this past Saturday, you received a Stamp Card, with 4 places to get a stamp. The first week should have been pre-stamped. If you did not get a card, or could not stop by on Saturday, pick one up anytime this week. Deadline is Friday night. IF you do not get one, you can not participate in Free Comic Book May promotion and trust me, when that Free Graphic Novel Day comes around, you will want to be part of that. You need to have all 3 stamps stamped on your card in order to get a FREE GRAPHIC NOVEL on May 26th, the fourth Saturday of the month .

We also have two awesome Signing Events this week.

First event is our two signings for SAM HUMPHRIES DAY. Sam is an awesome dude and a great friend of the store, and on this Wednesday, his new creator-owned book, Higher Earth (which is fantastic, and the first issue is $1.00) comes out, as well as his first issue of The Ultimates, which he is co-writing with Jonathan Hickman. In addition to that, We have copies of this incredible John Carter : Gods of Mars #1 with Ramon Perez (the artist of Tales of Sand) as well as $1.00 copies of Fanboys vs. Zombies #1. We also will have in stock Our Love is Real, a super controversial one shot that started Sam’s career in a huge way, as well as first 3 issues of Sacrifice, his indie series that made him a star, including our EXCLUSIVE Variant. We’ll have signings in Pasadena from noon to 3pm, and in the Valley from 5-8pm.

The other event we have this week is going to be HUGE. Join us on Saturday, May 12th, from 6pm to 9pm, as we celebrate the release of a truly SPECIAL Graphic Novel / Art Project, DAMES IN THE ATOMIC AGE, with creator/writer ChristopherRyder, as well as all of the artists involved in this awesome project, including:

The event will be a 1940s noir/sci-fi Costume Party / Contest (with an amazing prize for the best costume, a jam piece by the artists involved), FREE BOOZE, Custom Label DAMES IN THE ATOMIC AGE Cigars, Music, Movies and a ton of Retro FUN.

Star Wars actors Peter Mayhew and Tom Kane, and Star Trek actor Robert Picardo are just some of the great panels attendees can see at The Great Allentown Comic Con’s MEGA SHOW event in November!

The Great Allentown Comic Con presents the 2011 MEGA SHOW Panel schedule, and a packed show room with 100 tables of artists and dealers this show is the largest “little con” in eastern PA. All panels will run approximately 1 hour, and many will include multimedia presentations and interactions with attendees as well as prizes! In addition to the panels below attendees can still expect Door Prizes at 11:30, 2:45 and 5pm both days.

Saturday

Main Show Room:

10:00 AM – Show Opens! – It’s time to “Get UR GEEK On!” as the first annual Great Allentown Comic Con MEGE SHOW officially Opens!

11:30 AM – Door Prizes! – Be sure to make it back into the main showroom where the first group of door prizes for the day will be given out…Busts, Trades, Comics and Toys…what will you win?

2:45 PM – Door Prizes! – Be sure to make it back into the main showroom where the second group of door prizes for the day will be given out…Busts, Trades, Comics and Toys…what will you win?

5:00 PM – Door Prizes! – Be sure to make it back into the main showroom where the final group of door prizes for the day will be given out…Busts, Trades, Comics and Toys…what will you win?

6:00 PM – That’s not All! -Sure the showroom is closed, but be sure to join the party at Lee Gribbens on Main in Emmaus at 9pm for the After Party sponsored by HIGH EVOLUTION STUDIOS!

Large Panel Room:

10:30 AM Crazy 8 Press – Join NY Times Best Selling Authors and Famed creators Michael Jan Friedman and Peter David as they discuss their new independent publishing venture Crazy 8 Press! With over 200 novels between them already printed, and dozens of universes and genre touched, listen to them discuss the new worlds they plan to visit now that they are independent.

12:30 PM Hound Comics – Join the Hound Comics team (Brimstone, Sajad Shah, Mina Sanwald, and Lucious) as they discuss upcoming project, current releases, and just how much goes into creating comics, books, cartoons and video games!

1:30 PM Joint 501st Legion and Rebel Legion Star Wars Trivia Contest! – Do you know how many parsecs it took the Millennium Falcon to finish the Kessel Run? How many meters long is a womp rat?….What is a womp rat anyway? If you can answer these questions than be sure to come to this Trivia contest…and Win some great prizes!

3:00 PM Costume Contest! – This one is easy…show up in a costume! Just think…Halloween could come twice this year! Cosplay expert Amber Love Delaney will be on hand to help judge the best outfits and hand out prizes!

4:00 PM Underbelly Media – YouTube sensation and all around geektastic sketch show Underbelly will be presenting a special multimedia show. Sketches, bits, and all around geek cultural explosions can be expected!

Small Panel Room:

10:30 AM Smurftology 101 – Join “Smurfologist” Matt Murray as he puts on his professor smurf hat and presents a history of The Smurfs! Is Papa Smurf actually Carl Marx? Do the Smurfs plan to take over the world? These myths (or truths?) and more will be covered…so be sure to “Smurf” yourself a chair and “Smurf” in!

12:30 PM Comic Greats and Legends Panel – Join Tom Smith, Neil Vokes, and Bob Hall as they discuss working in comics in the modern age…and just what it feels like to have been in the “funny books” for so long. Learn the untold stories about the creation and influences these artists have had on titles from The Avengers to Doctor Strange!

1:30 PM Toteman Panel – November is Epilepsy Awareness Month, and the GACC is proud to be supporting the Toteman Epilepsy Awareness/PSA comic book. But who is Toteman anyway…and why should people support this great book? Join Toteman creator John McLaren and artist RickMan to learn just why you should be helping this great cause!

4:00 PM Horror/Zombie Panel – Join Neil Vokes, Tom Schloendorn, Tommy Castillo and Chris Moreno as they discuss the Horror of the past and future, and our current love of all things Zombie.

Sunday

Main Show Room:
10:00 AM – Show Opens! – It’s time to “Get UR GEEK On!” as the first annual Great Allentown Comic Con MEGE SHOW officially Opens for a second day!

11:30 AM – Door Prizes! – Be sure to make it back into the main showroom where the first group of door prizes for the day will be given out…Busts, Trades, Comics and Toys…what will you win?

2:45 PM – Door Prizes! – Be sure to make it back into the main showroom where the second group of door prizes for the day will be given out…Busts, Trades, Comics and Toys…what will you win?

5:00 PM – Door Prizes & Show Closes! – Be sure to make it back into the main showroom where the final group of door prizes for the day will be given out…Busts, Trades, Comics and Toys…what will you win?

Large Panel Room:

10:30 AM JK Woodward & Peter David – Join the creative team behind Fallen Angel as they discuss working together on one of today’s top independent titles. Learn just what goes into the creative process for JK Woodward one of the comic industries most talented up and coming artists, and Peter David, one of its most prolific author/creators.

12:00 PM Star Wars Panel! – Join Peter Mayhew and Tom Kane as they discuss working in one of the most iconic and celebrated franchises in history. With some great stories, and possible spoilers? On upcoming events…this is a can’t miss panel for true fans of Star Wars!

1:30 PM Star Trek Panel -Join us as we let Robert Picardo have his way with us in this rare solo panel appearance. If prior experiences are any indication expect to catch at least one song and dance number, and quite a few entertaining stories and jokes. Be sure to arrive early to get a good seat!

3:00 PM Pretending to be on TV with Glen Tickle – Comedian Glen Tickle hosts a “late night” style show with attitude. Joined by artists and guests Glen will interview and get to the bottom of this whole “Comic Con” thing.

4:00 PM Toteman Epilepsy Auction – We are proud to be supporting the Toteman Epilepsy comic book and Epilepsy Awareness in general. November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month, and what could be better than supporting a great cause and an up and coming comic book creator. While online bidding has begun prior to the show, this will be the final live auction, and once the gavel lands some great art and items will find new homes…and with your support we will have raised enough to send the Toteman book to print. So…come and Bid High and Bid Often!

Small Panel Room:

10:30 AM How to Draw Smurfs – This one is for the kids! Smurfologist Matt Murray will teach you how to draw your favorite Smurf!

1:00 PM Disney World! – Former Disney Animator Terry Naughton has influenced and worked on many of the classic Disney films of the last 3 decades. Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast are just a few of the things he has done. Currently he has done the artwork for Peter and Angie Mayhew’s children’s novels and has his own book out “The Art of Terry Naughton”

*All times are approximate, and may change at last minute.

About The Great Allentown Comic Con! – The Only Comic, Sci-Fi and Pop-Culture Convention in the Lehigh Valley. Founded in 2010, by Riverside Comics; The Great Allentown Comic Con (GACC) is already one of the fastest growing Fan-focused events in the comics industry. Currently located in the 10,000 sq ft Showroom of the Merchants Square Mall in Allentown PA, the GACC is dedicated to producing celebrations of comics and popular culture by providing unique access to talented artists and a family-friendly experience for fans. The show motto “Get UR Geek On!” represents in part the recognition of the diverse and unique nature of our fans, and our commitment to providing events where they can come express themselves freely.